Garment having expansile characteristics

ABSTRACT

A garment and method for rolling up a cuff of a cloth are disclosed. In one embodiment, a garment and method may be directed to a cylindrical shaped expansile fabric having a top edge, bottom edge, and apertures designed to wrap a cuff of a cloth, including a pant leg hem, shorts leg hem, sleeve cuff, and turtle neck, and to fold up the cuff together with the expansile fabric applied over the cuff. By the elasticity of the expansile fabric, the cuff continues to be held in a rolled-up manner but as a temporary measure so that the length of the pant leg, shorts leg, sleeve, and turtle neck can be maintained at a desired length for a wearer of the cloth and adjustable easily. In some embodiments, the expansile fabric is rolled-down to release the cuff wrapped inside without leaving any additional attachment.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority and benefit from the U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/306,540, filed Mar. 10, 2016 and titled, “GARMENT HAVING EXPANSILE CHARACTERISTICS”. The entire content of the provisional application is herein expressly incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

Mass-produced clothing is often manufactured based on standards for an average-sized male or female. However, such mass-produced clothing may not often be designed to accommodate different body shapes and body features of the purchasers, such as short or long legs, wide or narrow waist, short or long arms, short or long neck, and so on. For example, an overall length of a shirt may fit a purchaser but the length of the sleeves of the shirt may not fit perfectly. Similarly, a waist of a pair of pants may fit a purchaser well, but the length of the pants may be too long. Some manufacturers provide a variety of lengths for jeans and trousers; however, it is difficult to accommodate all different body features. Further, there is often no option available for sleeve lengths or turtle neck lengths unless the clothing is tailored.

For larger size clothing, alteration or tailoring provides a solution to shorten sleeves and pant lengths. However, alteration is, generally, costly and once the alteration is made to the clothing, such alteration is commonly irreversible and does not provide for flexibility of sleeve or pant length. For children, many parents buy larger size clothes with the expectation a child growing into such larger clothing. Thus, even though sleeves and pant legs do not fit a child, alteration are not to be made to the clothes, and instead, the sleeves and pants need to be rolled up by hand. However, hand roll-ups do not secure the pants and sleeves at the desired length as the child moves. Specifically for pant legs, longer pants may cause injury to the child if the child steps on the rolled-up hem of the pant legs that have unrolled. Even for adults, such rolled-up pant legs may cause tripping with the extra fabric bunched up at the end of the pant legs and are typically awkward. Pant legs and shirt sleeves for adult clothes similarly may need to be adjusted for regular daily activities, including walking, running, and biking. Further, pant legs may need to be off the ground in case of rain or different heel height of shoes, especially for women.

On the other hand, for a shorter size clothing, there is no easy and secure way to add a length to clothing, including pants, shorts, sleeves of shirts, and turtle neck, except alteration to the clothes.

Some removable pant clips for retaining a pant cuff are disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0245460 and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0104742. In these references, a pair of removable pant clips contain magnetic bodies such that the magnetic clips are applied over the hand rolled up pant cuffs to retain the pant cuffs. However, the magnetic bodies are not capable of securing the cuffs during strenuous exercises or sudden movements. Further, attaching clips over the pant cuffs is not aesthetically attractive.

Pant cuff protectors disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,829,847 provide a means of holding pant cuffs. In this reference, the cuff protectors consist of fabric strips with two magnets distantly located so the fabric strip is attached to the heel of a shoe. With the cuff protectors, the back-side of the pant clears the ground by pulling the back-side of the pant using the half-folded fabric strips affixed with magnets. This type of pant cuff protector requires additional steps to attach the fabric strips to the shoe and further cannot accommodate different shoe types. Further, the cuff protector does not hold rolled-up cuffs of the front-side of pants from sagging or unrolling.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects and many of the attendant advantages of the claims will become more readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plane top view of expansile roll-up cuffs according to an embodiment of the subject matter disclosed herein;

FIG. 2 is a view of the expansile roll-up cuffs of FIG. 1 applied over a wearer's leg according to an embodiment of the subject matter disclosed herein;

FIG. 3 is a view of the expansile roll-up cuffs of FIG. 1 applied over a wearer's leg and a pant leg pulled down over the roll-up cuffs according to an embodiment of the subject matter disclosed herein;

FIG. 4 is a view of the expansile roll-up cuffs of FIG. 1 folded up onto the pant leg to make a single roll-up according to an embodiment of the subject matter disclosed herein; and

FIG. 5 is a view of the expansile roll-up cuffs of FIG. 1 further folded up onto the pant leg to make a double roll-up according to an embodiment of the subject matter disclosed herein.

Note that the same numbers are used throughout the disclosure and figures to reference like components and features.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject matter of embodiments disclosed herein is described here with specificity to meet statutory requirements, but this description is not necessarily intended to limit the scope of the claims. The claimed subject matter may be embodied in other ways, may include different elements or steps, and may be used in conjunction with other existing or future technologies. This description should not be interpreted as implying any particular order or arrangement among or between various steps or elements except when the order of individual steps or arrangement of elements is explicitly described.

Embodiments will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and which show, by way of illustration, exemplary embodiments by which the systems and methods described herein may be practiced. The expansile roll-up cuffs may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy the statutory requirements and convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

By way of overview, the subject matter disclosed herein may be directed to expansile roll-up cuffs. Length of sleeves and pant legs may be securely adjusted to fit with each individual by applying expansile roll-up cuffs on a leg of the individual and rolling a pant leg up with the expansile roll-up cuffs. Roll-up cuffs may be easily applicable to individuals and easily roll up the pant leg without any additional attachment. Elasticity of the roll-up cuffs may secure the pant leg during movements and strenuous exercises. These and other advantages will become more apparent in the detailed descriptions below with respect to FIGS. 1-5.

FIG. 1 is a top plane view of expansile roll-up cuffs 10. Materials of cuffs 10 are generally flexible fabric and may include any synthetic fabric, such as polyester, acrylic, nylon, rayon, acetate, spandex, lastex, and Kevlar™, any natural fabric, such as cotton or wool, and any combination thereof. In one embodiment, the material of the cuffs 10 may include permeable fabrics for breathability and waterproof fabrics for rain uses. The cuffs 10 are usually a pair for each leg or sleeve. Each cuff 10 is made of a piece of flexible fabric and shaped as a rectangle in this embodiment. The rectangle shaped fabric(s) includes four edges which are referred to as top edge 11, bottom edge 12, right edge (not shown), and left edge (not shown). In this embodiment, the length/width of the top edge 11 is equal to the length/width of the bottom edge 12. In another embodiment, the piece of flexible fabric may be shaped as a trapezoid and the top edge 11 is wider than the bottom edge 12 to accommodate wider calves. Each right edge and left edge of the fabric is the same length and may be sewed together so that the rectangle shaped fabric makes a cylindrical tube with two edges, top edge 11 and bottom edge 12. In another embodiment, the right edge 11 and the left edge 12 can be attached by thread, glue, sealing, or any adhesive material to create one seam. When the right edge and left edge are attached, a seam (not shown) is formed. In a further embodiment, the cylindrical tube can be created without a seam as one piece. In still a further embodiment, the cuff 10 may be made of two different pieces of fabric shaped as rectangle attached together with two seams. The two pieces of fabric may have a different color, pattern, or even different material. When the cuff 10 is made from one piece of fabric, a wearer should wear the cuff 10 as the seam appears at the ankle side. When the cuff 10 is made of two different pieces of fabric, a wearer should wear the cuff 10 as the two seams appear at the right and left sides of a leg. For the cylindrical tube, between the top edge 11 and bottom edge 12, a hollow space is created characterized by a first aperture adjacent to the top edge 11 and a second aperture adjacent to the bottom edge 12. An overall size of the fabric may vary to accommodate various sizes and for men, women, and children. The fabric consists of two sides, front-side 13, 14 and back-side 15, 16. In one embodiment, the front-side 13, 14 may have patterns and colors. In a further embodiment, a reflective strip 17 may be applied vertically, horizontally, or randomly on the front-side 13, 14 and back-side 15, 16 of the lower portion of the cuff 10 so that when the cuff 10 is rolled-up, the cuff 10 shows the reflective strip 17 for safety measures. In a still further embodiment, the reflective strip 17 may be applied vertically on the cuff 10 so that when the cuff 10 is rolled at any length, the reflective strip 17 is still shown. In a still further embodiment, the back-side 15, 16 may have patterns and colors. In a still further embodiment, the front-side 13, 14 and the back-side 15, 16 may have the same or different patterns and colors.

FIG. 2 is a view of the expansile roll-up cuffs 10 of FIG. 1 applied over a leg 21 of a wearer. To wear the cuffs 10, first, a wearer pulls up the hem of a pant leg 20 and sticks a foot 22 into the top edge 11 of the cuff 10 and out from the bottom edge 12 of the cuff 10. In one embodiment, when the top edge 11 and bottom edge 12 have a different length, the bottom edge 12 is designed to be a longer edge of the cylindrical tube of the cuff 10 so that the bottom edge 12 of the cuff 10 can fit without tightening the instep of the foot 22. A length 23 of the cuff 10 is predetermined based on the length of the top edge 11 and bottom edge 12. When the cuff 10 is applied over the leg 21, a back-side 16 of the cuff 10 is shown. This embodiment describes application of the cuff 10 to a pant leg 20 as an example; however, the cuff 10 can be also applied to a cuff of a sleeve (not shown), a hem on shorts, or neck opening portion of a cloth with a turtle neck (not shown) to shorten the sleeve or turtle neck.

FIG. 3 is a view of the expansile cuffs 10 of FIG. 1 applied over the leg 21 of the wearer and a pant leg 20 pulled down over the cuffs 10. A wearer may adjust the bottom edge 12 of the cuff 10 to an appropriate location of the instep of the wearer. Typically, to roll up the pant leg 20, the bottom edge 12 of the cuff 10 may come through a couple of inches from the hem 30 of the pant leg 20 so that the cuff 10 may be properly hemmed up over the pant leg 20. Further, a length 32 between where the hem 30 of the pant leg 20 touches the cuff 10 and the bottom edge 12 of the cuff 10 becomes a length of the cuff when rolled over the pant leg 20. In one embodiment, the wearer may adjust the bottom edge 12 of the cuff 10 locating closer to toes to create a wider hem. In another embodiment, the wearer may adjust the bottom edge 12 closer to the hem 30 of the pant leg 20 to create a narrow hem.

FIG. 4 is a view of the expansile roll-up cuffs 10 of FIG. 1 folded up onto the pant leg 20 to make a single roll-up cuff 40. Thus, the bottom edge 12 of the cuff 10 becomes the top portion of the single roll-up cuff 40. The single roll-up cuff 40 creates a pocket (not shown) between the single roll-up cuff 40 and the hem 30 of the pant leg 20, so that the single roll-up cuff 40 surrounds the hem 30 (not shown) of the pant leg 20 and the front-side 14 of the cuff 10 is shown.

FIG. 5 is a view of the expansile roll-up cuffs 10 of FIG. 1 further folded up onto the pant leg 20 to make a double roll-up cuff 50. By rolling the cuff 10 further onto the pant leg 20, the hem 30 (not shown) of the pant leg 20 is folded up further inside of the cuff 10. With the elasticity of the cuff 10, the hem 30 of the pant leg 20 maintains the double roll-up of the cuff 50. A bottom edge 51 of the double roll-up cuff 50 becomes an end of the pant leg 20 where the wearer desires the length of the pant leg 20 to be. While the cuff 10, 40, 50 steadily maintains the hem 30 (not shown) of the pant leg 20 inside, the cuff 10, 40, 50 is simply attached to the pant leg 20 to temporarily hold up the pant leg 20 at the desired leg. When the cuff 10, 40, 50 rolls down, the cuff 10, 40, 50 can release the hem 30 of the pant leg 20 as described in FIG. 3 without leaving any attachment on the pant leg 20. Such easy reversible application of the cuff 10, 40, 50 is preferable for women who wear different height of heeled shoes (not shown).

All references, including publications, patent applications, and patents, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and/or were set forth in its entirety herein.

The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the specification and in the following claims are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “having,” “including,” “containing” and similar referents in the specification and in the following claims are to be construed as open-ended terms (e.g., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value inclusively falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate embodiments and does not pose a limitation to the scope of the disclosure unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to each embodiment of the present disclosure.

Different arrangements of the components depicted in the drawings or described above, as well as components and steps not shown or described are possible. Similarly, some features and sub-combinations are useful and may be employed without reference to other features and sub-combinations. Embodiments have been described for illustrative and not restrictive purposes, and alternative embodiments will become apparent to readers of this patent. Accordingly, the present subject matter is not limited to the embodiments described above or depicted in the drawings, and various embodiments and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the claims below. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A garment, comprising: a body of expansile fabric having a top edge, bottom edge, right edge, and left edge, the right edge and left edge affixed to each other; wherein the right and left affixed edges form a cylindrical shape having a first aperture adjacent to the top edge and a second aperture adjacent to the bottom edge; and wherein the body of expansile fabric is configured to be folded to form an inside of a cuff when the bottom edge is moved adjacent to the top edge.
 2. The garment of claim 1, wherein the body of expansile fabric comprises a hollow space between the first aperture and second aperture configured to receive at least one body part of a wearer of the body of expansile fabric wherein the top edge remains applied over the body part while the bottom edge is rolled up with the cuff.
 3. The garment of claim 2, wherein the body of expansile fabric is sized to fit one body part of the wearer comprising at least one of the group comprised of: a leg, arm, and neck.
 4. The garment of claim 1, wherein the body of expansile fabric is elastic so that the roll-up cuff is maintained over the cloth at a desired location of a wearer by rolling the cloth together with the cylindrical shape.
 5. The garment of claim 1, wherein the right edge and left edge of the body of expansile fabric are attached by at least one of the group comprised of: a thread, glue, sealing, and adhesive.
 6. The garment of claim 1, wherein the body of expansile fabric is made of at least one of the group comprised of: a synthetic fabric, natural fabric, and combination thereof.
 7. The garment of claim 1, wherein the body of expansile fabric comprises a function of at least of one of the group comprised of: breathability and water-proof.
 8. The garment of claim 1, wherein the bottom edge of the body of expansile fabric is wider than the top edge of the expansile fabric.
 9. The garment of claim 1, further comprising: a front-side of the body of expansile fabric and back-side of the body of expansile fabric; and a reflective material attached to the front-side of the body of expansile fabric.
 10. A method, comprising: placing a cylindrical-shaped fabric with elasticity having a top edge forming a first aperture and a bottom edge forming a second aperture over at least one part of a limb of a wearer through the first and second apertures; and folding one of the top and bottom edges toward the other of the top and bottom edges whereby the elasticity of the cylindrical-shaped fabric holds the first aperture adjacent to the second aperture.
 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising: folding up the cylindrical-shaped fabric over the roll-up cuff to form a double roll-up over the garment.
 12. The method of claim 10, further comprising: adjusting application of the cylindrical-shaped fabric over the one part of the limb of the wearer to create a desirable length of the roll-up cuff over the garment.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein the one part of the limb of he wearer comprises at least one of the group comprised of: a leg, arm, and neck.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein the cylindrical-shaped fabric comprises at least one of the group comprised of: polyester, acrylic, nylon, rayon, acetate, spandex, lastex, Kevlar™, cotton, wool, and combination thereof.
 15. The method of claim 10, wherein the cylindrical-shaped fabric comprises a front-side and back-side having different fabric characteristics.
 16. A roll-up cuff supporter, comprising: a tube of fabric made of a flexible material configured to maneuver over a cuff of a cloth to wrap the cuff and to roll-up the cuff together with the tube of fabric so that the cloth is rolled-up and elastically held within the tube of fabric.
 17. The roll-up cuff supporter of claim 16, wherein the tube of fabric is cylindrical with an aperture configured to receive a limb of a wearer of the tube of fabric.
 18. The roll-up cuff supporter of claim 17, wherein the tube of fabric is sized to fit a limb of the wearer that is at least one of the group comprised of: a leg, arm, and neck.
 19. The roll-up cuff supporter of claim 17, wherein the tube of fabric comprises a seamless construction. 